"-on as possible. I repeat - all agents are to come to the meeting room as soon as possible. I repeat..."
McCree drowsily opened his eyes to the sound of Winston's voice blaring over the comm. What time was it? He looked at the alarm clock next to his bed and it displayed '05:02' in a green so bright it made him squint his eyes against the harsh light.
Jesse climbed out of bed, made his way to the comm lying on the floor across the small room and muted it.
"Gotcha, big guy," he thought.
"Alright, this has to be important. Gotta get to the meeting room asap. No time to shower. Should probably put a shirt on, though."
McCree grabbed the first shirt he saw - a slightly faded tartan button-up - off the ground and threw it on, missing a few buttons in his tired haste.
He then slipped on the first shoes he could find - fuzzy horse slippers that smelled of spilled coffee and sweat - and made his way to the meeting room that was luckily near his room.
In a half-asleep daze, wearing an old shirt, new sweatpants and slippers that needed to be washed, the cowboy truly was a sight to behold.
What with him being a genuinely kindhearted person, it was rather difficult to dislike Jesse.
Unless you were Hanzo Shimada, who found it incredibly easy.
Instead of being his usual charming self, Jesse had fallen over Hanzo's bow and broken three of his arrows on his way to greet the new agent.
Lazily waving to Lena as she quickly made her way past him, Jesse pondered what was so important that he had to wake up at such an ungodly hour.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he walked into something metallic - or someone, for that matter.
"Sorry 'bout that, wasn't lookin' where I was goin'," McCree apologised.
"It is alright. Have you seen Genji today?" Zenyatta replied politely.
"Nah, jus' you an' Lena," Jesse said.
"I suppose I will see him at the meeting. Thank you anyways," responded the monk, taking his leave and heading towards the meeting room.
When Jesse arrived, most of the agents were already there. He took his usual seat between Fareeha and Reinhardt, gratefully accepting the strong coffee that was handed to him by the giant man.
"You look like you just got mugged," Fareeha commented.
"Feel like it too," Jesse replied, taking a sip of his coffee.
He almost choked when Hanzo entered the room, looking as prim and proper as ever. Most people in the room were still waking up, but the older Shimada looked as if he had spent hours getting ready.
Hanzo sat down next to Genji, definitely noticing McCree's staring. It's not as if the cowboy was trying to hide it, and it annoyed the archer greatly.
A cold glare averted Jesse's gaze, instead turning to Winston. Patiently waiting at the head of the table, he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
"Thank you for getting here so quickly, everyone. I know it's early, but this is very important. There's been a breach in our security and over half of the defence systems are offline. No need to panic though, I'm, uh, working on it and everything will be back to normal soon," Winston paused and glanced around the room, making sure everyone was paying attention, "Anyway, a small team will need to check how much physical damage has been done - to cameras, turrets and things as simple as empty storage facilities. There should be two, possibly three agents on the team, but no more than that. Since a large part of the surveillance equipment is down too, there's no way to be sure if whoever destroyed our defences is still here or not, so we need a small and stealthy team," he cleared his throat before continuing, "Backup will also be required but if the team sees anyone unfamiliar who is armed, they should head back here immediately without being seen, if possible.
"Any agents chosen to perform this mission will be given more information about exactly what has been destroyed and where to look. Would anyone like to volunteer?"
There was a brief silence as agents decided whether they'd volunteer or not.
First to raise her hand was Tracer. An obvious choice - she was fast, could be quiet if she tried and her recall could be used to easily get her out of tricky situations.
Next to volunteer was Genji. Another good choice - who would be better for a stealth mission than a literal ninja? There were a few drawbacks, such as his cybernetics occasionally making noise as they release steam and the fact that he glows in the dark. He could make a quick escape, though, so he would be helpful.
Strangely enough, his brother volunteered too. Since he was still a rather new agent, Hanzo hadn't been on many missions, and those that he had weren't exactly important. Some people on the watchpoint still didn't trust him as some saw the immediate aftermath of his fight with Genji. What better way to prove his loyalty the new and improved Overwatch than protecting their current base?
His skills were impressive, too - his sonar arrows would be especially useful to ensure the safety of him and other teammates on the mission, not forgetting his pinpoint accuracy.
Last to raise his hand was none other than the cowboy who had become somewhat more awake since the coffee Reinhardt had handed him.
Compared to the girl who can blink through time, the cyborg ninja and the man who can shoot dragons from his bow, McCree didn't seem very special. What he lacked on that part, though, he made up for in raw skill. The only people that wouldn't say the man had special talent were the people who hadn't seen him kill eight people using a six-shooter without reloading.
Although his spurs were the opposite of stealthy, McCree was deadly when armed with Peacekeeper and could stun people with a flash-bang for an easy escape.
Reinhardt, Pharah and Mei became the backup team, with Mercy on call if medical assistance was required.
All four volunteers would've made an excellent team, but two agents was ideal for a mission centred around stealth.
The information was sent to each volunteer's tablets and they each reviewed it, Tracer already planning flank routes if she had to fight anyone.
Hanzo read through the information, memorising the locations of everything that was destroyed, then pulled up a map of the watchpoint and searched for ideal sniping spots.
McCree scanned through everything briefly, hoping the other agent would have read through it more carefully.
Genji was too caught up in talking to Zenyatta to notice anything new on his tablet. He eventually decided to join the backup team, if only to have more time talking with the monk.
With only Tracer, McCree and Hanzo to choose from, Tracer and McCree seemed like the best choice as they were most familiar with the watchpoint and had worked together before.
Tracer, however, thought it would be an excellent opportunity for Hanzo to learn the layout of the whole base and perhaps even settle his differences with Jesse.
For some barely conceivable reason, Winston agreed with her and it was settled that Jesse and Hanzo would be going on the mission together.
Hanzo, of course, had a problem with this. The problem wasn't that he disliked McCree - it was that he was incredibly stubborn.
The archer was fully convinced it was impossible to dislike the gunslinger, but he had given the impression that he did and was too stubborn to apologise or set things straight.
Also, Hanzo believed he had a reputation to keep up as a stoic man who seemed to only talk with Genji (on the rare occasion the cyborg wasn't with Zenyatta, of course).
All the other agents cleared the meeting room, leaving McCree and Hanzo to discuss mission plans and begin the mission as soon as possible.
"So, uh," McCree began, "Why did Winston wake us up this early? I mean, this surely coulda waited, I need my beauty sleep."
His attempt to be civil and make a joke didn't work very well.
Hanzo glared at him before saying, "Fool. If the security equipment has been destroyed, whoever or whatever destroyed it may be on the base currently. If Winston had allowed us to sleep in, it would have been extremely dangerous."
Jesse sighed and asked, annoyed, "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot an' all, but can ya at least try to be civil?"
Hanzo saw the opportunity to change McCree's perception of him, and readily leapt at the chance. Only on the inside, of course. On the outside, he was as collected as ever.
"I think that would be in the best interests of the mission, so I will try," Hanzo said, somewhat awkwardly.
They discussed where they'd go first, when they'd split up, where they'd meet up and what they'd go if they got into a fight with anyone on the base.
It was decided that Jesse would take out as many enemies as possible while Hanzo provided cover fire.
After going back to their respective rooms to prepare, they headed out.

.—•—.

The two men decided to examine the largest broken object first, as it was so big it would require both of them thoroughly checking to see exactly what parts of it had been destroyed and to evaluate whether it would be easy to repair or if it should be replaced.
While they were walking to the large turret Torbjörn had spent hours lovingly crafting, Jesse decided to make conversation, if only to fill the awkward silence.
"So, uh, how've ya been lately?"
He was met with only more silence. As he shivered in the frigid December wind and pondered how Hanzo didn't seem cold at all with his entire left side out, Jesse sighed.
"Damn, seems like the breeze ain't the only thing here that's cold."
Surprisingly, that got a chuckle out of the archer. Jesse had never heard Hanzo laugh before - of course, until now he was sure the sniper hated him.
"Ya got a nice laugh, wish I could hear it more often," Jesse said, unsure if he was a crossing a line or not.
"Hush, cowboy," said Hanzo, yet his voice contained no venom. He turned his face away from McCree, but the gunslinger could've sworn he saw a hint of a blush on the other man's face.
They carried on walking as a comfortable silence settled.
After around five minutes of walking, McCree saw the destroyed turret.
"Got eyes on Torb's turret, come over here," he called out to Hanzo, who was scouting the area from atop a storage crate.
The archer made his way over to the cowboy and they made their way over to the turret.
After some careful examination, they decided that the turret was beyond repair and that they would salvage what they could from it on their way back,
"Alright, it's probably best we split up now, yer comm workin' alright?" Jesse asked.
Hanzo nodded and said, "Notify me if you need cover fire and I will be there as soon as I can."
With that, he walked away and climbed up onto an ammunition storage building.
Jesse made his way to the set of cameras that had been hacked and would only display an odd symbol of a skull.

.—•—.

"McCree, where are you?" Hanzo's slightly static-y voice asked over the comm.
"I'm right by the outer turrets, why?" Jesse responded.
"I have seen a group of people I have not yet encountered. I believe they are the ones responsible for the defence systems being destroyed."
"What do they look like?"
"One has a black cloak, one has purple hair, one has a large gauntlet, one has an odd contraption on her back and the other-" Hanzo was cut off as a gunshot was heard.
"Hanzo? You there?" McCree called down the comm, growing more concerned by the second.
"-m here, they have a sniper."
Jesse quickly replied to him, "Where are ya? Do ya need any help?"
"I am near your location, they have lost sight of me."
"Is there a safe route back to the base? We've got pictures of most of what was destroyed, and it'd be a lot safer to come back with a whole team if we're gonna fight whoever's here."
"They are heading toward the main building. The one with purple hair disappeared, though."
Jesse was silent for a moment as he considered the best plan of action.
"It ain't safe for ya to head back on yer own, even if I was with ya. Get to where I am and I'll tell Winston about the intruders. Sounds like it's Talon, to me."
"Understood. I am making my way to your location."
While he was waiting for Hanzo to arrive, Jesse made contact with Winston.
"Is there a problem, Agent McCree?" Winston's voice sounded over the comm.
"Yeah, a pretty big one," Jesse explained, "Looks like Talon's behind our destroyed defences and they're on the base. They're headin' to the main building, so it's probably in yer best interests to have the backup team sort 'em out."
"Oh, thank you for informing me. Let me know if there's anything you need. Winston, signing out."
A brief static sounded across the comm and Jesse lifted a finger to it to speak to Hanzo.
"Hey, you almost here? Hanzo? Can ya hear me?"
He got no response and began to fear the worst, but then saw Hanzo's figure running towards him.
As he slowed his pace, Hanzo asked, "Did you inform Winston of Talon's presence here?"
McCree nodded, "Yeah, but is yer comm workin'? Ya weren't answerin' an' I was getting a lil worried 'bout ya."
Slightly confused, Hanzo lifted a finger to his comm and went to say something down the line, but instead yanked the comm out of his ear and winced, letting it fall to the floor.
Concerned, McCree rushed to his side, "You alright? What happened?"
Hanzo gathered himself before responding, "There was an incredibly loud, high-pitched noise when I went to say something over the comm. I would advise against you attempting it."
"Seems like the person who hacked the cameras got to the comms, somehow. We're probably in the blast range of a powerful EMP."
After a few seconds, concern was all Jesse could make out on Hanzo's face. Of course - if a powerful EMP was used in a fight with the backup team, Genji could be in serious trouble.
"Hey now, I'm sure yer brother's alright. He's got Angie protectin' him and I'm sure Zen wouldn't let any harm come to him," Jesse said in an attempt to comfort the archer.
Instead of saying something pessimistic like McCree had expected, Hanzo nodded and replied, "Shall we head back to the main building? It w-"
Hanzo was cut off as Jesse pulled the archer close against him to hide in the shadow of a wall of rocks, the darkness concealing the faint dust of red across the shorter man's cheeks.
"Talon's close. Even if they're retreatin', we'll be in a lotta danger if they see us," whispered the gunslinger.
"What do we do?" Hanzo asked, voice hushed.
"I've been against their sniper before. She can activate that thing on her head and see where everyone is, through walls or anything. They'll find us if we stay here, and we can't go back," Jesse replied, his voice almost silent.
Hanzo replied, "...We need to leave the base?"
Jesse simply nodded, and released his hold on the archer. So as not to be heard, they crept along the rocky wall, staying in the shadows to decrease the chances of being seen.
As they passed the several hacked cameras marking the main entrance/exit of the base, the two men rushed for cover as Talon members ran past them, either not noticing or not caring that they were there.
They didn't run off and away from the base, giving Jesse and Hanzo an easy way back to the main building like they'd hoped. Instead, they made their way along the border of the base and spread out. One by one, they disappeared, but the Overwatch agents knew they were still nearby and would somehow find out if they made a run for the main base.
"You got a plan in mind?" Jesse asked, only fractionally louder than he was before.
Hanzo shook his head and peered out from beneath the cover they had found - a fallen tree with branches so rage and numerous they formed a sort of shelter. Leaning against a rocky wall, the tree hid McCree and Hanzo from the sights of Talon.
"We should find somewhere to camp out for a while and then get back to the base when we know it's safe," Hanzo said, daring to raise his voice to the same volume of a regular person talking.
Jesse agreed, and they set out to find a more suitable shelter - a fallen tree couldn't exactly keep them warm or protect them from the weather.

.—•—.

They hadn't been searching for long, but the cold made it seem far longer than it really was. The two men had found a small cave that luckily had no animal inhabitants.
They had spent longer on the mission than they'd thought - according to McCree's watch, it was nine o'clock. They had set out at six o'clock.
Jesse noticed Hanzo shivering and removed his serape. He carefully placed it on top of the other man, wrapping it around him like a blanket.
"McCree, you don't have to-" Hanzo began.
"Don't worry about it," Jesse said, cutting him off, "And you can call me Jesse."
"Alright, Jesse, but I still feel bad accepting this. Will you not be cold?" Hanzo said almost reluctantly.
"Aw, worried about me?"
Hanzo looked away.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Seems like you need it more."
There were a few moments of silence before Jesse spoke up again.
"What does it feel like when ya summon yer dragons?"
"What?" Hanzo replied, slightly startled.
"Ya heard me," Jesse said, hoping it didn't sound rude.
Hanzo say very still and McCree thought he wasn't going to say anything before he began to speak very quietly.
"They rise like a flood. I can feel it. They want to be used. I feel somewhat empty for the short amount of time they're gone."
"That... That sounds pretty rough, how do ya cope?" Jesse asked.
"It is difficult. Sometimes I feel I would be better off dead."
"Hey now, don't say that. Not as a joke or out of anger, most people are never better off dead," he paused for a moment, "Why are ya tellin' me anyway? Here I thought you hated me."
"No, I couldn't," Hanzo replied simply. It seemed he wouldn't give much more of an answer.
"So, how did it feel when ya first summoned them?"
"With the dragons, I must be aware of them at all times. At first, they wished to be master until I had shown I was stronger. It was surreal, I was winded for a while afterwards. I did not recover until they returned to me."
"D'ya think it was the same for Genji?"
"I never thought to ask."
That seemed to bring up bad memories for the archer so McCree changed the subject quickly.
"When I first joined Deadlock, the leader referred to herself as the Queen.
Everyone joked that she had some sorta weird fetish but we all respected her. I think all the higher-ups had weird fetishes, actually. The fella who trained me made me call him master,"
Jesse carried on, slightly quieter now, "I remember one time, he decided to test me-
Jesse raised his gun and threw himself around the corner. The cowled figure grabbed his wrist with one hand and his throat with the other then, using his hip, threw Jesse to the ground. Before he had time to gather himself, he was pinned down and a knife was at his throat.
"Jesse," said his master. He could hear amusement in the older man's voice. "Have you forgotten everything I ever taught you?"
"Master? I didn't think it'd be you."
"Obviously." He loosened his grip on Jesse's throat and sat back on his haunches, putting the knife away.
"What was that about, kid?"
"Lee's dead, there was a knife wound in his side."
"And when you saw me, you thought you had caught this murderer?"
"Yes, master."
"Well you were brave, if foolish, to attack."
He looked Jesse dead in the eye and raised his knife.
"Best I make sure nobody else makes your mistake."
-heh, I would've been dead if I didn't have Peacekeeper with me. Lee was my only real friend back then."
"Why... why are you telling me this?" Hanzo asked.
"You told me about the dragons and a bit of yer past, an' it seemed like ya wanted ta change the subject."
"...Thank you."
Hanzo then began to speak, seeing the impact telling the story had on McCree.
"I fought the dragons when I first found out. I hated myself for it. Well, I already hated myself. The dragons did not help."
Tears welled up in his eyes and threatened to spill. Jesse felt like a cruel child poking a sick animal with a stick, but still he spoke on out of curiosity.
"Why?"
"Will it make you hurt less if I open these old wounds for you, Jesse?"
There was a tense silence for a few seconds.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't've asked."
"I see that you carry a great burden, Jesse," Hanzo looked up and almost directly into the taller man's eyes, "but if you would let me, I will lend you my strength so it does not break your back."
Jesse smiled down at him and told stories of the trouble he and Genji used to get into with pranks and jokes in Blackwatch until he felt a weight on his shoulder.
Hanzo had dozed off, his head leaning on McCree's shoulder.
He looked peaceful, content... but so vulnerable.
He looked like someone who hadn't been through everything Hanzo Shimada had.
He looked like someone Jesse definitely didn't want to disturb.
Jesse wished he could sleep right then and there but if someone - or something - attacked them, he wanted to be able to protect Hanzo.

.—•—.

Jesse checked his watch.
Eleven o'clock.
An hour talking with Hanzo, an hour getting lost in his thoughts.
He looked down at the archer - he was closer than he was before. Instead of just his head resting on McCree, he was fully leaning against him, his head nuzzled into the gunslinger's neck.
"Hanzo? Hey, wake up." Jesse murmured, shaking Hanzo slightly.
He stirred, slowly blinked his eyes open and all too quickly realised where he was, who he was with and what he was doing.
He pushed himself away from McCree, skittering across the cold, damp floor of the cave. The other man's serape fell off as he did so.
"Ah- I apologise. I must've gotten close in my sleep, I-"
Jesse cut him off.
"Don't worry about it. Ya kept me warm."
The archer turned a light shade of pink when he realised how much he had overreacted to the situation.
"It's eleven," Jesse stated, "We should be able to head back to the base now. Talon won't have stayed near for this long and I'm sure the team is worried about us."
He stood up and offered Hanzo a hand which he almost eagerly accepted and pulled himself up.
Jesse left the cave first after picking up his serape and insisting that Hanzo should keep hold of it for now. He made sure there was nobody outside - just in case - and motioned for Hanzo to follow him.
They had chosen a place rather near the base to rest, so the walk back to the base was rather short.
The walk to the main building from the entrance to the base was, however, quite long, so the two men made light conversation, subtly changing the subject and straying from darker topics.
Jesse occasionally flirted with Hanzo, if only to see how flustered he got at the sudden show of affection that he was so unused to, even if it was meant as a joke.
At one point on the walk back, Jesse knelt down to inspect some rubble and pretended to pick something up.
He turned to the archer and said, "Hey Hanzo, can you hold this?"
Hanzo held out his hand to hold whatever it was Jesse was giving him - and then Jesse interlaced his fingers with Hanzo's.
The shorter man looked away in an attempt to conceal his bright blush, but it was futile as it had spread to the tips of his ears.
Just to make the situation even better - or worse, depending on how one might think of it - the gunslinger went to press an innocent kiss to the archer's cheek.
It wouldn't've been a problem if it weren't for the fact that Hanzo turned back at that very moment.
Instead of his lips meeting Hanzo's cheek, they were met with another pair of surprisingly soft lips.
Jesse instantly pulled away.
"Oh- I'm sorry, I- I didn't meant to, I swear on my Ma, I just- I meant to kiss yer cheek, but you-" Jesse struggled to explain but Hanzo, stars above, Hanzo giggled.
"You- you're enjoyin' seein' me suffer, ain't ya?" Jesse exclaimed.
Hanzo used his free hand to cover his mouth as his eyes met Jesse's and the gunslinger burst out laughing, too.
Jesse wouldn't've asked if he wasn't sure Hanzo was interested. What made him so sure? He was still holding his calloused hand.
"Why don't why try that again? Take two?"
"What?" Hanzo asked, although he'd definitely heard and understood McCree.
After a moment's thinking he nodded and calloused hands made their way into soft hair as they kissed in the soft midday sunlight.
They later arrived at the main building with salvaged parts of the large turret and concerned friends.
Genji approached them first, much to Hanzo's relief once he saw that his brother was safe.
"What happened to you two? We tried to reach you but the comms were too static-y an-"
The cyborg was interrupted by Angela as she approached the three men.
"You can talk to them later, Genji, I need to check them for injuries or illnesses. It's freezing outside, you know."
"I guess I'll make myself useful and take this scrap to Torbjörn," Genji said, taking the salvaged turret parts before either of the men could protest.
Angela whisked them away to the med-bay for a checkup and, when nothing was wrong or unusual with them, they were released.
They both went back to Jesse's room to talk and simply enjoy each other's company.
By the time they had eaten and given in their mission reports, it was rather late.
Since Hanzo's room was quite a distance from McCree's, he stayed there for the night.
Jesse thought that, wearing clothes too big for him that functioned well as pyjamas, the stoic Hanzo Shimada looked rather cute.

.—•—.

"Jesse, you are taking up the whole bed."
"I know you are awake."
"Move up, Jesse."
"I will physically kick you out of this bed, Jesse."
"Nah, you wouldn't. You just couldn't bear the thought of hurting me."
"Hmph. Move up."
For once, both Jesse and Hanzo thought that everything would be alright, if only for a moment.

A/N - hhh im so sorry for the hiatus uhh
there should be around 2 updates every month now I promise!!!
dedicated to my classmate at gamer grill high school u know who u r
I was considering killing off Hanzo maybe I will soon who knows
As always, leave your criticism in the comments. Cheers!